Clairton

Spotlight Project
Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade
KLH Engineers completed a Basis of Design report and detailed design for plant upgrades. The Basis of Design study included an evaluation of: construction of a trickling filter with high-rate clarifier to run parallel with existing activated sludge process and construction of an anaerobic digester, construction of a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) with high-rate clarifier and anaerobic digester, and construction of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with conversion of existing aeration tanks to aerobic digesters. The study also included development of a detailed list of improvements recommended for the existing processes. The design included a hydraulic re-rate from 6.0 MGD to 10.83 MGD and peak flow capacity increase from 9.72 MGD to 44.0 MGD. Recommended upgrades include a self-cleaning trench-style raw sewage pump station, new headworks, SBR basins, UV disinfection, digester upgrades, and solids handling improvements. In addition to treatment capacity issues, the existing plant has sludge digestion issues related to aerobic digestion of primary sludge and inadequate digester volume. The upgrade will allow for the plant to easily meet Class B requirements.

The plant currently does not have nutrient limits, however the SBR design provides nutrient removal capacity. Design limits are 5 mg/L and 1 mg/L for nitrogen and phosphorus respectively.